


An Empty Shadow Filled with Gold

by shou



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demon Deals, Familiars, Fluff, Human Bill Cipher, Multi, POV Dipper Pines, POV Third Person, Triangle Bill Cipher, bill does not understand human emotions, demonic guardians au, dipper pines is tired, dot is a nerd, human dot matrix, i made up a lot of demon facts, mabel pines is amazing, square dot matrix, will tag as this continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-04-16 18:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4635642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shou/pseuds/shou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>In the recorded history of all of humanity, no human had ever been born without a familiar. </em><br/><em>Until the day that a pair of twins tumbled into the world, the girl laughing and giggling her way through life, the boy pulling his hair over his peculiar birthmark while staring up in wonder at everything around him.</em><br/><em>Mabel and Dipper Pines, the first humans to be born without familiars.<b></b></em><br/><em></em><br/><b></b><br/>But Dipper has his own plan. A deal with a demon for a (fake) familiar? A triangle with a god complex, a sweater-loving square, a magical bond...<br/>Dipper might need to rethink his plan.<br/><em></em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> So this is super AU-ish. It's based off of starfleetrambo's (tumblr) Demonic Guardians AU. But I took a lot of liberties and pretty much just borrowed a few things. Both the Stan brothers are living in the Mystery Shack. Mabel and Dipper never ran into Bill Cipher. It's the twin's second summer, so they're about thirteen. Also, while this is labeled as Bill/Dipper, I'm gonna say this now: DIPPER IS STILL SUPER YOUNG AND IT WILL BE VERY VERY MILD.  
> I don't know how much I'll do on this, I think it depends on the response.  
> Anyways! Read on!  
> Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls I wouldn't be posting this here, I'd be making it CANON also I don't own Dot since he's so inspired by tumblr user starfleetrambo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! this is a thing!  
> yikes  
> ive never written for this fandom, so be gentle with me  
> but helpful comments are always welcome

_**fa·mil·iar**_

_ fəˈmilyər_

noun

_plural noun: **familiar spirits**_

 

  1. _a demon supposedly attending and obeying a witch, often said to assume the form of an animal._

  2. _(in the Roman Catholic Church) a person rendering certain services in a pope's or bishop's household._




 

The animals that stayed by everyone’s sides were a part of everyday life. No human went without a familiar. The creatures could not die, they could not be injured, so no human could  _lose_ their familiar. The creatures could be anything from a mouse to a majestic eagle to a small frog to a towering ostrich. But they were always animals. No exceptions. For thousands of years, images of the creatures shadowed every human in history. Stories were written about them. Scientists claimed that the creatures aided a human's mental health and emotional stability, while those that believed in the more magical aspect called them "the guardians of the human heart". There were theories, anti-familiar cults, entire schools devoted to the study of the creatures. But in the recorded history of all of humanity, no human had ever been born without a familiar. 

Until the day that a pair of twins tumbled into the world, the girl laughing and giggling her way through life, the boy pulling his hair over his peculiar birthmark while staring up in wonder at everything around him.

Mabel and Dipper Pines, the first humans to be born without familiars.

 

 

* * *

 

Dipper Pines was the most boring kid to ever exist, complete with a completely normal family and a dull, dull life. No! Really! He would say this himself, as his sister squealed in the background at the sight of her pet pig in a ballet tutu, a gnome gnawed on his foot, and his great uncle, or  _grunkle_ , glued tiny glowing horns to a dead field mouse. Ordinary! One could even say boring. 

"Hey, Dipping Dot! Look at Waddles and Sammy!" 

Dipper sighed, but he did turn around to watch the pig and the squirrel prance around in a circle. Mabel was cheering Waddles on, while Wendy stood by giggling at her familiar. Sammy was one of the most cheerful and friendly familiars Dipper had ever seen. He was always greeting new people, skittering over their shoulders before diving back into Wendy's hair. He was the exact same shade of red, and was nearly indistinguishable most of the time. 

"Dippeeeeer, you've got that look again." Mabel was staring at him with her biggest puppy eyes, hands on her cheeks. "It's that look you get when you're thinking about  _stuff_ like, hmm, maybe familiars!" 

"What?! Nooo I'm just... judging your pig. Very silently." He glared at Waddles, pointedly  _not_ looking at Sammy or Wendy. He'd gotten over the red head last summer, he was so not letting himself spiral into that crush again. "I think Ford wanted me for something! Me mentioned uh... chopping wood!" Dipper made a hasty exit, yanking his hat over his eyes. He wasn't thinking about familiars. He was just thinking about his lack of one. Okay, so maybe he was thinking about the creatures. But how could he help it?! Mabel had Waddles. Everyone just assumed the pig was Mabel's familiar. And he might even actually be just that. He very rarely left her side, and the two had a very obvious connection. He'd gone back to the city with them after the previous summer, and everyone at school just assumed Mabel had just been leaving her familiar at home. Odd, but not unheard of. 

Stupid familiars. Stupid stupid  _stupid!_ Dipper was sick of the fact that he was alone. Animals were never really fond of him. Waddles liked him enough, but that was probably because he was Mabel's twin. Sammy climbed on his shoulders sometimes, but it was rare. Ruby, Soos's fluffy, little mutt of a familiar was friendly to everybody, and even  _he_ was a little wary of Dipper. Martin and Marco, Stan and Ford's raccoons liked each other and the older Pines twins and nobody else.  _  
_

So Dipper was left without an animal to at least pretend was his own. And he hated it. 

 _Maybe you're so weird you're missing whatever it is that makes familiars attach themselves to their humans,_ Dipper thought, kicking a rock against the chopping stump. The thought had crosses his mind a number of times. Maybe he didn't have a familiar because he was too different.  _I'll show them! I'll find myself a familiar or I'll... I'll..._ "Argh!" Dipper growled in frustration, kicking the stump with all his might. He regretted it a second later, as his entire foot throbbed in pain. He hopped around biting his tongue so hard it bled, trying to keep in his yowls of pain. 

As the pain slowly subsided, Dipper started to think. That's what he always did to distract himself. 

So he didn't have a familiar. Big deal. That meant he didn't have the constant worrying creature pulling him back from danger. Last summer, when he and Mabel had taken Soos and Wendy on mystery expeditions, their familiars always tried to pull them back to safety. They'd call and run in circles every time Wendy and Soos would go near danger. 

Dipper didn't have that. He could go near danger without having the disturbance of a yapping dog nipping at his heels or a squealing squirrel screeching in his ears. He could use that to his advantage! He'd seen mentions of demons in the journals, but Ford had warned him never to look into them. Stan had even threatened to take away the journals if he did. So Dipper had stayed away. Oh sure, he'd read the entries time and time again, but he'd read the entirety of all the journals over and over. He practically had them memorized. 

Demons could be summoned, that much he knew. There were lots of kinds of demons, all with varying strengths and weaknesses. They weren't all evil, even if the title _demon_ did reflect something that shouted "not good".  But they also made deals, and — usually — kept them. Dipper just needed to find the correct demon and think of a worthy payment. He even had an idea which demon he was going to try to summon. It wasn't a demon Ford had encountered, but he had heard of it from other spirits. "The Tranquil One", it had been dubbed. A tranquil demon was not something Dipper thought possible, but he knew better than to limit himself to what he thought was possible/impossible. He needed payment, but surely the demon would have ideas. 

Slowly, a small smile crept over his face. This plan just might work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!


	2. Unfulfilled Anticipation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raccoons like chattering, corn chips are the emergency snack, and Dipper is a nature nerd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sammy is my fave animal familiar IVE ALWAYS LOVED SQUIRRELS)  
> om soooo sorry this is just filler stuff before the demons. they really do need an entire chapter for their introduction, though. so. you get dipper dipper dipperrrr  
> my descriptions of the oregon forest are a lil over the top but... well. i have a weakness for the forests in this state  
> if you wanna maybe... follow me... or talk to me... on tumblr... i'm agentsharkie  
> anyways  
> on with the story...

Dinner had been a nightmare. Dipper had barely been able to sit still _at all._  He wanted to go pick open the locks on the cabinet Ford kept the journals, go out to the words and finally,  _finally_ do something about his lack of familiar. But instead, he had to sit by calmly while Stan described his new plans for a haunted corn maze, even though it was only June, Mabel sang the song she and Waddles had written, and Soos announced he had gotten a second job! Stan had freaked out, but when Soos told him "It might get me opportunities to advertise the shack  _outside_ of Gravity Falls!" Stan clapped him on the back as they began to plot. Dipper had laughed and smiled away but inwardly he was full of jitters. 

Finally the ordeal was over with, and he was able to go back up to his and Mabel's room to look over the notes he'd written last time Ford had let him look through the journals. Thankfully, Mabel had decided she was going to go have a last minute sleepover with Candy and Grenda, and Dipper had the room conveniently to himself. 

Last summer, he'd gotten a nasty fever and Ford had let him read through the journals all day as a distraction. During that time, he'd copied down a lot of information, including the section on the Tranquil One. 

Now, he puled it out, squinting at his absolutely atrocious hand writing.

 

_While I myself have not included this demon, I have heard much of him from the spirits I have worked with these past few months. He is told to be one of the most powerful mind demons, specifically relating to academics and sciences. The water nymph I helped last week told me "The Tranquil One" is the demon of knowledge. He has aided many scholars of your people. He was weakened greatly by the destruction on a great library belonging to your species. But it would take more than a library to destroy him. He is all powerful."_

_The Tranquil One's symbol has appeared in Gravity Falls exactly twice since I arrived here. Once on the lawn in front of my house in a blazing blue fire, and once in the starlit clearing near the falls on the edge of this town. The symbol is a perfect square, with a rectangle in the upper right corner and a dot in the center. I know this to be his symbol as the gnomes and the fairies warned me of his wrath dare I remove it. Both times it disappeared within the hour I discovered it, but in that moment I knew I had to know more._

_Another symbol often accompanies the square; the second symbol is a triangle, also with a dot in the middle and two lines running horizontally through the bottom two thirds. I believe this to be a second demon, however when I questioned the water nymph mentioned previously she simple scoffed, leaving me with no answers._

_The Tranquil One, like all demons, can be summoned. I myself have never had the need, but last night I had what I think was a dream visit from either the Tranquil One himself or another demon. I woke up with the knowledge of how to summon the Tranquil One. First, you must write down exactly one hundred words worth of your knowledge. Topic, language, these things do not matter. Secondly, you must create a perfect square with the most perfect of rocks. Thirdly, you must draw one half of a demon trap inside the sqaure. Then, to summon him to this plane of existence you must chant these words: Scientiam! Cruribus parvum! Gratia tuo nos angulis! Strange words, yes, but these are what you must say._

_I plan on possibly summoning this demon within the month. While it may be an absolutely horrible idea, I must try it for myself._

 

And that was where the entry had ended. Problem was, it was also the last entry in journal three. Dipper had almost asked Ford about it, but the guy rarely told him anything about his old entries. He showed Dipper new wonders in the forest around Gravity Falls, he let Dipper help him begin a forth journal, but never spoke of the Tranquil One or even of demons. At all. So Dipper was a little frustrated. But he did have the summoning technique, and that was all he needed. He just needed one hundred words worth of his knowledge. Simple! He'd write about Oregon. He lived there, how hard could it be! 

 

* * *

 

 

Dipper regretted his decision to write about his home state. Half an hour later after much hair pulling, he finally had exactly one hundred words. But they were awful! They sounded stiff and fake, but they would have to do. 

_Oregon has a population of 3.97 million as of 2014. Its national flower is the Oregon Grape, and its capital city is Salem._

_In Portland, a city that surrounds the Willamette River, there is the smallest park in the world. The park is called Mill Ends Park, and is loved by both tourists and locals alike. There is a bus called the Max in Portland, and it is the most efficient mode of transportation in the city._

_On the coast, Oregon is cold and windy most days of the year, but when it is sunny, it is truly beautiful._

 

Now, Dipper needed some rocks. 

Luckily, there was a bag of paving pebbles out back to be used to revamp the edges of the Mystery Shack. Mabel had plans to paint them rainbow, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Dipper grabbed his backpack, and snuck downstairs to fill it with a pack of band aids, a water bottle, two disposable cameras, a marker, a butter knife, a flashlight (with extra batteries, of course), and a pack of corn chips. The chips were a last minute thought, but got tossed in anyways. Who knew, maybe he’d get hungry, and mystery hunting on a empty stomach was no fun.

He tip toed to get his vest, pulled on some shoes, made sure his hat was on firmly, and jumped over every squeaky floorboard to the door. It didn’t creak when he opened it, thank god, and he slipped out without anyone noticing. The air outside was cool, as it  _was_ only June, and the sky was clear, giving him plenty of light. He stood there for a moment, simply appreciating the beauty of it all without anyone making fun of him for it. 

That calmness was broken by a harsh chatter and a dark shadow leaping out from underneath the porch. The shadow morphed into a large raccoon, that stared at Dipper with it's glowing yellow eyes. 

"Go away, Martin. Or Marco. Whichever you are," he muttered at the raccoon, glaring at it's cute little mask and quick-moving hands. "I've got business. Don't you go following me." 

The raccoon sniffed once, then waddled off and back around the shack. Dipper sighed, straightening his vest and taking the opposite route to the back. Sure enough, the bag of oval pebbles lay already opened against the corner of the shack. Dipper filled the remaining space in his backpack with the stones, sticking a few in his pockets just to be safe, before setting off into the woods. He'd take out his flash light later, when he was farther from the shack. Besides, the moon and the stars were bright enough he could even see reasonably well in the depth of the mossy green forest. 

The ground was squishy beneath his feet, still wet from the morning rain that still arrived every dawn, left over from the winter and spring. He could hear an owl hoot, and was sounded an awful lot like a normal raccoon chittering to his mate. The tall trees around loomed towards the sky, their jagged branches covered in little green needles created a web of shadows so high above Dipper's head. This,  _this_ was what he loved about the forest. Everything soaked in blue shadows, then bathed in the pale light of the moon and the stars. Dipper could almost stay here forever, never leaving the safety of the tall pines and the multi colored mosses. 

It wasn't long until he found himself in a clearing, where moss and wood sorrel turned to yellow grass and small leaved clover. The area was free of stumps and rocks, and even had a dusty bit that had been dried in the sun, not yet touched by dew. Perfect for drawing a demon trap. Dipper set down his backpack, taking out the butter knife and piling the pebbles in a pile. He considered drawing the trap first, but decided against it. Instead, he started placing the stones in the most exact square he could manage. It took him a good fifteen minutes to get it all right, but finally all the stones were placed in a square about a yard and a half wide and tall. He brandished his butter knife, digging it into the ground to create the darker lines he needed. He'd memorized the pattern a while ago, and needing to draw only half was easy as pie. He finished the symbol with a flurry of his knife, grinning down at his creation. The journals hadn't explained what to do with the hundred words, so he just set the pice of paper in the center of the demon trap, hoping for the best.

Finally, he stepped back, admiring his work. It looked not half bad, if he did say so himself. Now, for the words. He'd been practicing them on his walk to the clearing, and had them memorized.

"Scientiam! Cruribus parvum! Gratia tuo nos angulis! __Scientiam! Cruribus parvum! Gratia tuo nos angulis!__  SCIENTIAM! CRURIBUS PARVUM! GRATIA TUO NOS ANGULIS!" He repeated them three times, because why not? He might has well say it more than once just in case he messed up on the first or second. 

Nothing happened. 

Dipper stared. 

Nada. 

And then—

In a burst of blue fire, the air above the sqaure of pebbles began to glow a violent white, nearly blinding Dipper. He shielded his eyes, but kept them trained on the glowing space. He didn't have to wait for long, as the white light slowly began to form a shape; specifically, a square. It gave one final poof of blue flames, before all that was left in it's place was the demon himself. 

"You're not my Shooting Star!" was the first thing the demon said, with crossed arms and a narrowed eye. 

Dipper was absolutely speechless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i have this headcanon that ford would interact with forest creatures and supernatural things and then he would write everything down like he was writing a fantasy book. you wanna hear more? I WILL GIVE YOU MORE just like. send me an ask on tumblr or smth  
> i literally just google translated some latin. if you wanna translate it back to english and ask why its what it is, dont worry. it will be explained  
> the next chapter is going to be completely demon filled. bill will arrive! dot will be disappointed! dipper will probably pull his hair out  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. The Printer and the Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My name is Dot Matrix! You call me a printer you lose your internal organs, and if you so much as mention how ridiculous my summoning spell is, I will personally make sure you are eternally unable to find the word on the tip of your tongue." 
> 
>  
> 
> (alternately titled: GDI BILL-BILL NO-aww bill)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should note: i have this thing for characters that chatter, hence why dot is so... talky-talky. i know it seems like bill and dipper really wont get along, but isnt that how all billdip fics starts?  
> anyways  
> GO FORTH AND READ THIS THING  
> or dont thats okay too..  
> whatever you wish to do  
> yeah..

_"You're not my Shooting Star!"_

 

Dipper stared. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again, unable to find any sort of words that would fit the situation. 

He'd summoned the Tranquil One alright. The blue square was hovering at about eye level, his little round hat just a few inches about his head, and he had a little tie in his bottom quarter. His large, singular eye was... disturbing. The pupil was completely horizontal, and for some reason it gave Dipper a head ache just looking at it. 

"My name is Dot Matrix! You call me a printer you lose your internal organs, and if you so much as mention how ridiculous my summoning spell is, I will  _personally_ make sure you are eternally unable to find the word on the tip of your tongue." 

"I'm sorry,  _what?!_ " Dipper finally got his words out, in a spluttering question complete with hands outstretched and both eyes wide. "Who the heck are you!" 

The demon somehow managed to look offended, even with his one eye and lack of mouth. 

"I  _said_ my name is Dot Matrix! You call me a printer you—" 

"Yeah yeah, okay. But I summoned the 'Tranquil One', not... You're him, aren't you." Dipper groaned, as he came to his realization. "You're the.... you know what? Nope. Nope no way in any day no! You can just go right back to where you came from, I'll find a familiar some other way!" 

Something he said caught Dot Matrix's attention, because suddenly the demon was about a foot away, reaching out to squeeze Dipper's cheeks together with his tiny little hands.  "Did you say you don't have a familiar?"

"Uh, yeah, neither does my sister. What does this matter?" Dipper couldn't pull away from the grippy little hands. If he moved back he just dragged the floating square with him. And they were honestly painful. They sent literal jitters of... well, not exactly pain, but little jitters of unpleasantness all the way down to his toes. 

The singular eye was staring straight at him, but a second after grabbing Dipper's cheeks, it froze. Dot went completely motionless. A few very weird seconds later, his pupil travelled up to Dippers forehead, then his hat, where it widened in what looked an awful lot like surprise. "You're his Pine Tree!" Dot whispered, as his bright blue glow shone even brighter. "Bill is going to have a fit! Or maybe he'll adore you... You  _did_ somehow summon me correctly, you even said the words more than once. Even though three is really Bill's number, what with three edges and all!"  _  
_

Bill? Who was Bill? Was he another demon? Possibly the symbol that Ford had mentioned accompanying the square? Dipper had a million questions. 

"You know what, I think your dearest Cipher might just be feeling up for some physical plane shenanigans." The demon reached upwards, mimicking the action of ripping open something like a bag of cookies or a granola bar wrapper. His hand disappeared, even as his arm grew longer and longer. The space where his hand had been was dark, too dark to see. No actually, Dipper  _couldn't_ see it. There was something very much to what he imagined a black hole to look like, and Dot's hand was  _inside of it!_

"Oh come on, brother of mine.  _Pine Tree is here!"_ Dot tugged down, his own little feet hitting the ground as a bright flash of yellow blinded Dipper. 

Dipper was thrown back by the force of... something. There was a a pounding in his head, like something was trying hard to work it's way in. It didn't hurt, but it made Dipper curl in on himself, clutching his head in his hands. Whatever it was was too much for his human body. Whatever power was trying to get into him, Dipper couldn't handle it. He felt like he was splitting right down his center. 

"Bill Cipher! You reign yourself in this instant!" 

Dipper barely heard the square demon's voice. It was distant. Something had snapped. He couldn't see any colors, just shades of misty grey, his eye sight was weirdly flat, but also layered with multiple images all at once. And Dipper felt powerful. He felt like he could take on the world. Scratch that, he  _knew_ he could take on the world. Take  _over_ the world, even. 

" _Bill Cipher you are going to kill him!"_

And in another second, the power was gone. Dipper was on his back, he had a strange feeling of emptiness, but it was also contradicted by the secondary feeling that something was attached to him, he didn't know how. He finally got to his feet, adjusting his hat and brushing off his shirt. 

"Dot, what was tha...... AAAA!" Dipper leaped backwards, for the second he looked up, he was staring straight into a slightly different demon eye. This one had a vertical pupil. A better look at the demon and Dipper saw that he was a yellow triangle instead of a blue square, had a brick patter on his lower half, a bow tie, and a taller hat. But other than that, he was very similar to Dot Matrix. 

"Hello there, Pine Tree! The name's Bill Cipher. You're my human." The new demon's voice was harsher, and had a higher pitched echo that made it even more annoying. Dot at least just sounded like a slightly dramatic guy. Bill Cipher sounded like someone trapped in a tin can. 

"Excuse me, what? I'm  _your_ human?!" Dipper had stepped back, arms held in front of him in a defensive position. 

"You  _are_ the fully familiar lacking human, correct?" 

Dipper nodded. 

"Then you got it, kid. You're mine!" 

"No!" 

"Yes." 

" _No!"_

_"Ye-"_

"Oh for the love of my extra point, will you two  _shut up already?"_ Dot jumped between the other two, spreading out his hands in a placating manner. "Boy, that thing you felt when I dragged Bill into this dimension was Bill himself. You two recognized each other, tied your shadows together, and now you're stuck with each other! So please, calm down." 

Dipper had his arms crossed, and was glaring at Bill. Bill had his eye narrowed, and his tiny little hands were placed on his edge, almost like he was putting them on his hips. 

"Is this why animals hate me? Because I was  _destined_ to be uh,  _tied_ to a demon?" Dipper wasn't dumb, he could figure things out. But if he _had_ been tied to the demon, he would be in a pile of trouble. 

"You got it, Pine Tree! We're destined to combine our forces to create the most terrifying duo of all time! Dot here is for your sister, but I'm  _alll_ yours!" Bill's eye was open too wide, and tinged slightly red at the corners and his glow was so bright Dipper had to shield his eyes to look at it. Honestly, he was scary as heck looking, but for some reason, Dipper wasn't afraid. He knew, somehow, that the demon wouldn't hurt him. But the mention of his sister made Dipper shake his head vigorously. 

"No, no no no! No demons near Mabel! No offense, Dot, you seem like a pretty decent demon, but I just can't let you near her." Mabel was off limits. She wasn't weak, far from it. He also knew she'd say the same thing if their places were reversed. Dipper wouldn't allow the demons near any of his family. In fact, he was going to send them back to wherever they came any second now. He just needed to smudge that demon trap and break the square of stones. 

"I'm her demon, kid. She needs me just as much as I need her." Dot's voice had quieted, and he had floated a little lower so his eye was just a few inches below level with Dipper's. His glow had turned pink, the color of Mabel's favorite sweater. The one with the shooting star. 

"You're her demon? Bill called said  _I_ was  _his_ human."  _  
_

Dot huffed, glaring at Bill, who's glow had tamed down and his eye was no longer partially red. "My brother says a lot of things. We're your guardians now, Pine Tree. Whether all of us like it or not, the universe has been meaning to stick us together for a very long time now." 

Dipper didn't know what to say. On one hand, he and Mabel  _were_ without familiars. On the other hand, these creatures were demons! If the tying thing was true, it looked like Dipper was stuck with the triangle, and Mabel would be stuck with the square. 

"Fine. Say I do let you near Mabel. She'll go through what just happened to me?" Dipper didn't want his sister to go through that. He still felt slightly empty. 

"Bill was a little dramatic. He rarely keeps his power in check." 

"Oh ho ho, Mr. High and Mighty Square here in incorrect. I was simply  _yanked from a different dimension_ and had up shields and a few offensive spells. You got a lot of feedback from those," Bill cut it, shaking one finger back and forth. 

"Fine, yes. But in answer to the question, Shooting Star would not feel what you went through. I am much more controlled. It would be like finding a piece of herself she never knew she was lacking." Dot sounded almost dreamy, if a demon could even sound dreamy.

Dipper could feel himself giving in. Mabel had always been more optimistic when it came to their familiarless state of being, but he'd seen her stare longingly at Candy's lizard, at Grenda's sparrow, at Pacifica's cat. He saw her practically outshine the sun when people commented on Waddles, saying things like "What a sweet familiar!" and "Oh, your familiar is so adorable!" Of course Dipper wanted Mabel to have a familiar, just as much as he did. 

But this thing with the demons, it sounded more like they were the twins' guardians and less their friends. But that thing that he felt like he was attached to... that was almost pleasant. It took away the loneliness he'd felt since as long as he could remember. Some part of him had finally been filled up. The world seemed a little less daunting with the new part of himself. It was like he had never been able to see a certain shade of yellow, and now everything was bathed in its comforting glow. 

"You're getting it, aren't you." Bill had floated closer to him. He looked much more calm, and his glow was that same soothing yellow at imagined covering the world. "Dottie and I, we're not here for a visit. We're stuck here. Or more accurately, we've finally landed here. We've been jumping dimensions and realities for centuries, trying to find the right one. And here it is!" 

Dipper was surprised at how calm the yellow demon sounded. He could feel it, too. Some part of him knew that Bill wasn't about to burst into flames, he wasn't going to do some creepy demon magic. It was definitely relieving. 

"Okay. I guess... I guess I can take you to Mabel. But only in the morning, okay? She's not even at home, she's out with her friends." And they certainly weren't going to . A sleep deprived Mabel was his least favorite version. Plus, the moon was already low in the sky. Dipper himself was starting to feel exhausted. 

"Let's take him home, Bill." Dot muttered. Bill drifted over to Dipper's backpack, tapped all the contents once, making them disappear. Dipper opened his mouth to protest, but Dot shushed him. "It's fine, they just went back to your room. Just like you're going to go. See you two there." And Dot was gone in a spark and a small poof of white. 

Dipper stared at the summoning square, complete with demon trap. 

"That thing is dead now. It's not keeping us here. You and your sister are." Bill's voice sounded from behind him, making Dipper jump. "Calm down, Pine Tree." Bill was reaching out to him, putting a small hand on his forehead. 

"What are you—" 

But in a split second of complete blackness, Dipper was standing in his room. Dot was settled above Mabel's bed, glowing faintly. His eye was closed, and soft pulses of what looked like faint mist were emanating from him. Dipper didn't disturb him. 

He pulled off his coat and shoes and socks, quickly changed into his pajamas, ignoring the triangle that hovered in the center of his room, and climbed into bed. He pulled the covers up, sighing contentedly. 

"You won't get into any trouble, will you?" Dipper asked the demon. He couldn't believe he was falling asleep with two demons in the room, but he just wasn't afraid. They wouldn't hurt him. They weren't there for that. 

"Go to sleep, kid," Bill replied. His glow faded slightly, as if it were a lamp you dimmed at bedtime. 

Dipper stared at him for another moment before flipping to face the wall, pulling the blanket up to his ear. 

Bill floated over to place himself at the head of Dipper's bed, closer to the right side. His eye closed, and the same pulses of white mist began to spread above the human. 

The demons had finally found a home, and Dipper and Mabel would never be without guardians again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so ive decided this fic is going to be twenty chapters long. it's my favorite fic length, and i have all the chapters planned out and titled. this week i have meetings for school stuff every morning which means i'll have to get up, so if dont post the next few chapters as quickly, that's why.  
> dont let calm bill fool you. he's gonna be a lil crazy. he's also over loaded with power. emotional power. heh. you'll see it WILL be explained eventually  
> ive been listening to stitches-shawn mendes on repeat while writing this WHICH REALLY DOESNT FIT AT ALL but its so pretty ;n;  
> THANKS FOR READING BEEBEES ILY SO MUCH 
> 
> (edit: OMG THE LATEST EPISODE "OUR HERO" AND EVERYTHING AND AAA also THE DEMON DORITO IS PROBABLY RETURNING HECK YEAH)


	4. Pancakes and Panic.. Panicakes!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper Pines was used to walking up to squealing. Pig squealing, Mabel squealing, the screams of terrified costumers that arrived too early and are graced with the sight of Grunkle Stan in only his boxers and knight cap. So he was very good at sleeping through loud voices. 
> 
> He had never heard the piercing giggles of a his sister combined with that of a demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so guess who is super sorry she didnt update this thing  
> its me  
> im the sorry one  
> but hey hoo i did some [demonic guardian au fanar](http://agentsharkie.tumblr.com/image/127700401695)t. pocket sized demons! (they have three main sizes-demon normal, which is the size bill is in the show, book size, about six inches at their base, and pocket sized, like in that picture)  
> im so sorry this is a little shorter than the last. the pines family had a sit down in the next and it felt wrong putting it all in one, which would get TOO long  
> enjoy this thing WHATEVER IT IS

Dipper Pines was used to waking up to squealing. Pig squealing, Mabel squealing, the screams of terrified customers that arrived too early and were graced with the sight of Grunkle Stan in only his boxers and knight cap. So he was very good at sleeping through loud voices.

He had never heard the piercing giggles of a his sister combined with that of a demon.

Dipper sat bolt upright at the shrill noises, hands shooting out in a defensive pose. "Who'stherewhat'sgoingon!" his speech was slurred with sleep, and his hair stuck up in eight directions all at once.

"Dipper!" Mabel laughed, jumping off her bed to jump onto his. "Have you met Dot and Bill? They're hilarious! Don't worry, Dot, you'll always be my favorite. All Bill has been doing is staying next to Bro-Bro here."

Dipper let his hands fall to his lap, shaking his head a little. "Mabel, what on earth are you on ab... Oh yeah." He saw the two demons, both looking at him now. Summoning. Demons. Blue and yellow. Ties. They'd been bigger yesterday, closer to the size of a window. But today they were much smaller, about as wide at their bases as a standard hard cover book. HUh. 

"And Dot explained the whole tie thing. Dip, we have familiars! Well. I practically have two. Turns out Waddles is practically my familiar already!" Mabel was bouncing up and down, grinning at Dipper. But she only stayed on his bed for a moment before jumping off again. Dipper could only stare at her as she grabbed the bottom hem of her sweater — today's had a glittery cupcake with stars all around on it — and held it out for Dot, who wiggled his way in. The neckline wasn't the same as her normal one. This one was lower, which allowed Dot to poke out just enough to see, including his little hands. "See you at breakfast, Dipper!" Mabel called behind her, even as she disappeared down the stairs.

"They seem to have hit it off," Dipper muttered, swinging his feet to the freezing cold floor and rubbing his eyes.

"Oh yes, they are quite the pair."

Dipper looked over at Bill, who was floating by his window. His arms were crossed and his eye was narrowed, staring straight ahead of him. Dipper could practically feel the waves of annoyance rolling off of the triangle. No, wait. He actually could feel them! Weird. "Mabel gets along with everybody, Bill. Well... except that creepy boy who had a crush on her last summer..." He trailed off, thinking for a moment before getting up to grab some new clothes. He pulled off his pajama shirt and yanked the new on, which only messed up his hair even  _more._ He stared at his shorts but decided to leave his PJ pants on. 

"'A quintessential bond is not a sign of compatibility, but of love and trust, the two things no demon can feel without a human partner.'" Bill droned, interrupting the silence. He floated over to grab Dipper's hat and flip it inside out before shoving it on the human's head, and then floated back to the window, settling down on the dresser. Huh. So he didn't always hover. 

"Um, what? That sounds like a quote." Dipper yanked his hat off, turning it right side out before putting it back on.

"It means she is already starting to  _trust_ him, Pine Tree! They met only an our ago!" 

Dipper shrugged. Mabel had seemed happy. "Is that really so bad? Dot seems nice. He should be good for Mabel. Now she has Waddles  _and_ Dot. She has an almost familiar and a demon guardian. You're my demon, right? So you should be happy for her." 

" _Happy for her bleh bleh bleh._ I'm  _not_ yours. I am an all powerful demon and I belong to  _no one."_ Bill was slowly growing in size, as his eye was doing the red thing again. 

Dipper just sighed. "Sure you are, Chippy. Let's go have breakfast." He put his hand next to Bill without thinking, rubbing his eyes again with his other. He could barely keep them open!  

"If you ever call me 'Chippy' again I will remove your eyes, Pine Tree!" Bill threatened, but grabbed onto Dipper's hand, climbing up his arm to stand on his shoulders. One little foot rested on the back of Dipper's neck, the other on his right shoulder. Dipper could feel a small hand holding on to a clump of hair, which sort of hurt, but for some reason was amusing. 

"Of course you will. And loosen your grip on my hair, I like it and would rather you don't rip it out." 

The hand in his hair grabbed onto his ear instead. 

Dipper rolled his eyes, but smiled. There was something that just felt so right about having the little demon near by. There was also an underlying thrill of potential danger, as Bill  _was_ a demon after all, but mostly just comfort and rightness. "To the kitchen!" he called out, striking a dramatic pose. He could feel Bill's amusement, but didn't comment on it. He quickly ran downstairs, before Mabel ate all the cereal and or pancakes, if someone had made them. 

There  _were_ pancakes, three teetering stacks on shiny white plates sat on the table next to butter and syrup, complete with Wendy dancing around in front of the stove, Sammy on her shoulder. Waddles sat in the sink, covered in bubbles with two pancakes in his mouth. The syrup had the fake label Stan always put on the bottles that read "Mabel-Syrup" with a pink maple leaf and lots of sparkles. He'd kept putting them on after Mabel put one on on the first day of their second summer.  _  
_

But the real spectacle was Mabel and Dot. 

Dot had grown in size to be the same size he was when Dipper first met him. He was hovering horizontally, so his eye was staring up at the ceiling, arms behind his "head" and legs crossed. Mabel was standing on a chair, the fourth plate of pancakes held precariously on one hand a she used her other to stack pancakes _on top_ of Dot. So far she had about ten. 

"Mabel... What are you..." 

"Dot, what in the name of all—!" 

Bill and Dipper both tried speaking at the same time, and stopped at the same time. Fuzzy feedback that felt a little like surprise buzzed in the back of Dipper's head. 

"Hey there, Bipper! Want some pancakes?" Mabel didn't look up from where she'd just stacked the thirteenth pancake. Dot waved. 

Dipper was confused at whatever name Mabel had used... "Bipper? Who is that?" 

"You and Bill! We're Dabel, which was better than Mot, and you're Bipper! We needed combo names, so I made some!" Mabel grinned, jumping down from the chair as her pancake plate was empty. 

Dipper just stood their speechless. Bill however, was not speechless. He had plans. 

"Pancakes! Where is your pride! Where is your self worth! We are ancient demons of power and you have been reduced to this!" He floated climbed onto Dipper's head while ranting, making Dipper wince slightly. Apparently he'd wanted to jump off, because he climbed onto the brim of the hat and just hurled himself at the table. He smacked the edge, but floated back a bit and up onto the table. 

Dipper just laughed quietly, before going over to the cabinet to get his own plate and pancakes. Wendy smiled at him, but his stomach didn't do the flutters it had last summer. That crush had died out, thankfully. Being friends without worrying about his crush was so much easier. He'd just grabbed his first pancake and his hand was hovering over a second when he heard a shriek. He looked up, only to see Ford gaping open mouthed at the sight before him. Which, Dipper realized, was probably a little strange. Bill was standing in the middle of the table, and had grabbed the largest pancake and stuck his point through it, enough so his eye poked out but his arms were underneath it. Dot now had at least twenty pancakes on him,  with a dangerously balanced complimentary strawberry on top. Mabel had syrup in her hand like she was about to cover Dot in the stuff. 

 _"What the hell — I mean heck — is going on here?!"_ Ford barked, already in a defensive stance. His voice had that high edge of panic that it only got when they faced the most terrible of monsters. Not so good.  

Dipper immediately set his pancakes down, jumping between the table and Ford. "I can explain! Uh... It's all under control!" 

The pancake stack fell off of Dot. Marco ran out from behind Ford to attack the pancakes that landed on the floor. Bill stuck his point through another pancake. 

"Kid, you've got some major explaining to do. What looks like the Tranquil One is in my kitchen, his speculated brother that looks like the all seeing eye has a pancake poncho, and you're doing nothing about it." 

Dipper groaned, but nodded. "Okay... I guess this one does require a bit of an explanation." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, this will have a plot. there's a chapter of explanation next, a chapter to get things rolling, and the first step of what the real plot is in the one after that. its not gonna be super apparent tho.. and the plot isnt something super giant. this is a self indulgent fic. i really just wanted to write demonic guardian au stuff  
> ive realized i would love to have a beta since normally i write this stuff at ungodly hours when im super tired and even if i read through i catch nothing  
> so which of you people wants to befriend me and edit this thing YOU GET TO READ THE CHAPTERS AHEAD OF TIME and also you get me as a friend yes/yes  
> comment if you wanna ooooor go send agentsharkie (it me) on tumblr an ask.  
> thanks for reading!  
> (edit: this entire fic has 6666 words and im laughing this was an accident)


	5. A Tale of Two Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demons may be heartless, but that's just because they need a wish and a grounding wire. Or a grounding tree. And a shooting star to wish upon. Specifically a bubbly girl with a love for sweaters and a noddley boy named Dipper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE A BETA??? OMG?? Thanks to the wonderful [Goshiku](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Goshikku/pseuds/Goshikku) for reading through this and fixing it up! Seriously. You’re the best. Bill will make you a pancake poncho in thanks.

“So... I might have summoned a demon.” 

Not a good start, but Dipper figured he should start with the truth. There was no way he was going to make explaining this easy, so he might has well give as many details as he could. Ford wasn’t one to be impressed by beating around the bush, or softening stories. “And it might have been the Tranquil One...” 

“Hey Dottie, they still call you that!” Bill interrupted, and chucked a small piece of pancake from his makeshift poncho at his brother. The square glowed extra bright, but other than that ignored Bill. 

“Shut up, Chippy. I’m explaining why you’re here before you get exorcised. Anyways! As I was saying, I summoned a demon. I wanted to make a deal to... to get a familiar. I was feeling a little lonely, and I wanted a friend. So I summoned Dot here. Then he dragged Bill through, because he’s supposedly _my_ demon, and Dot here is Mabel’s.” 

Ford barked out a laugh, but it was harsh and humorless. “You summoned a demon to make a deal for a familiar? Kid, you really need to get some priorities straight.” 

Dipper glared, but Ford was right. What the hell had he been thinking! Demons were creatures of chaos. They didn’t give lonely kids animal friends to watch and protect them. “Yeah, I know. But it was impulse, okay? I had the information, and I just wanted to do it.” 

“We’ll have to talk about how you got that information later.” Ford narrowed his eyes, but waved Dipper on to continue. 

“So I wanted a familiar, summoned Dot, and Dot pulled Bill through. They haven’t hurt us, I think they were even casting protective spells last night, because I’ve never felt safer. I mean, sure, there’s the overlaying danger because they’re _demons_ , but at the same time, I don’t think they’ll hurt us. Right, Bill?” 

Bill floated forward, raising a small hand. “That’s something you might want to let us demons explain, Pine Tree. You have no idea why we stayed. But you’re lulled into a sense of security right now. It’s a side affect of our bond.” 

Dipper had taken a small nibble of pancake, and nearly choked on it. “You’re _implanting emotions in our heads?”_

“Oh relax. It’s all fine. You’re not in any danger, unless you count the constant danger of Dot and me losing touch with our newly formed bonds and going full on unbound demon crazy. So why don’t you let us explain it all, hmm? Dot? You wanna help me out here?” 

Dot’s glow flashed white for a moment, but he picked off a remaining pancake, adding it to the sloppy heap on the table and floor. Mabel had restrained herself from pouring syrup on the square, and was now sitting with her own plate, watching the scene before her with wide-eyed interest. Ford looked ready to murder. Dipper noticed Wendy slowing setting her apron on the counter. She had been watching the whole ordeal with her mouth slightly open, and now she slunk away, Sammy wrapped around her neck. Dipper didn’t blame her. Demons and an angry Ford? If he thought he could get away with it, he’d slink away too.

“Full on experience, brother of mine?” Dot’s voice was almost echoey like Bill’s, which was odd. Dipper hadn’t heard him talk like that. 

“Let’s give em’ everything!” Bill was growing in size, to match Dot. Both of their glows were slowly becoming almost blinding as their eyes were consumed with color; Bill’s a light red, and Dot’s a light purple. 

“Bill, what the hell are you doing!?” Dipper shouted, flinching away from his brilliantly bright demon. 

“You need to explain what a tie means to a demon! You need to understand our bonds!” 

Mabel gasped slightly, a hand flying to her chest, to her heart. A second later, Dipper had the same reaction. Something was tugging, pulling him away from the world. Ford looked panicked, as his mouth opened to say something, most likely a spell. But he never managed to get anything out, as a second later, they all keeled over, hitting the floor with three simultaneous _thumps._

_Black. Nothing but black. Black so thick they could almost taste it. It consumed every part of them, seeping into eyes and curling around fingers. Their edges stung. They felt dry. Every inch of their skin crawled. It had pulled them apart, this cold, dark black._

_Brother. Fire. Power._

_They’d been connected for so long, that the separation was almost painful. It would be painful if they understood what pain was. They understood the concept. They could create pain. But without a heart, no creature can know true pain._

_Twins. Tree. Star._

_They’d been one entity, hadn’t they? They’d been connected, two halves of a whole. No demon worked alone. The loners were weak, they faded quickly. Tyr had faded. Sana. They’d separated, and hadn’t lasted a human century. They’d faded before even trying to find their humans. Two demons who faded without ever touching the minds of their humans._

_Heartless heartbreak._

_Twins, a boy and a girl. Their auras burned into the demons’ minds. Auras of pure power, of love and life and happiness. But also of doubt, fear, and loneliness. As closely connected as humans can be. Bound to each other in ways no one would fully understand. But alone, alone, alone. No shadow to tug on their heels, to pull them from the cliff’s edge, to curl around them and soothe their nightmares. No shadow to filter the brutality of the world. They felt everything more acutely than their family members._

_The two demons would need to find them. The twins needed them, yes, but the demons needed the humans even more. The darkness surrounding the brothers was overpowering. It would take over the human twins if they weren’t careful._

_The humans. They were somewhere neither of the demons knew. They had to find the humans. But they had so little information. They needed more. They needed out of the blackness._

_The blue one escaped. He travelled through many worlds, helping those that needed help. He had all the knowledge of a thousand universes. He saw the rise and fall of empires, of worlds, of entire star systems. A demon is not trapped to the physical world. A demon is only trapped by what he cannot imagine. And oh, the imagination of a demon is endless. The blue demon created new elements, new animals, new plants. Dot Matrix, Tranquil One. Those were the names he was called. But he was missing something crucial; he was missing a dream. He could imagine something, but he could never dream of something impossible, he could never hope for a wish to come true. He needed a shooting star to wish upon, but no matter how hard he looked, he could never find her._

_The yellow demon took much longer to break free. He was nearly consumed by the darkness. It wiggled its way into him, filling his entire being with angry thoughts and plans of destruction. It drove him to insanity, and then some. Only then did he escape. He was a dark demon, feared by many. Never summoned, always banished. He was a ruthless creature. While his brother understood the human race, Bill Cipher burned them. He destroyed cities, he created nightmares. He was the most terrifying demon any human had ever heard tales of. He needed something steady, something strong and reliable to keep him from spiraling out of control. He needed his tree, with its deep set roots and branches that reached for the stars._

_It didn’t last. They snapped. Knowledge drove the blue demon to hopelessness. He gave up. Floundered. Nearly faded. He receded to the corners of the human race, only choosing a select few to aid. He became a myth, and the human race lost its faith in the thing they called magic. He drifted through dimensions, waiting to be summoned, waiting to see his shooting star._

_But the yellow demon, the all seeing one. He burned. Without his human, without a heart, he sunk lower and lower. The human race no longer needed his forces of evil. They created evil on their own. And the yellow demon, he lost his touch with the world. He fell in on himself, creating a world completely his own. The Mindscape. It was a lifeless world of pure power. But it was a dark power, a power that fed off of fear. Without something to ground him, he was lost in a world of madness._

_The darkness was with both of them. It lurked behind corners, always on the edges of every world. Both demons knew it needed to be conquered. Both demons knew they could never do that without their humans._

_The summoning. Dot had seen the aura. And felt it, even from the parallel reality. He’d leapt for it, only to come up empty-handed. This was not his star. This aura was... This aura was the missing piece of Bill. That meant that this was the tree. This was Bill’s Pine Tree, the one that would tame and gentle the most terrifying and heartless creature this world had ever seen.  If this was Pine Tree, Shooting Star would be near by._

_When Bill had met Shooting Star, he’d finally felt what a dream was. Her head was full of dreams. From impossible wishes to terrible nightmares, the girl was far from lacking in the dream department. And she’d welcomed Dot, with open arms. Something in her had recognized him. Their minds had latched onto each other the instant they met, as their auras already began to mix and blend. Even the pig’s aura was reflected there, as he was the creature that had stepped in in the place of the girl’s absent familiar. Dot could feel himself growing. He could feel the power flowing through him, and when he looked at the human girl laugh and open her sweater for him, he wished he had a mouth so that he could smile._

_The first touch of Bill Cipher and his Pine Tree’s mind had been electrifying. So much emotion, so much anger and loneliness and ah, that was love. Love for his sister, for his friends, and for his family. Love that Bill absorbed faster than he could control. It flooded through him, weakening the darkness and lighting up his being. He finally understood what pain was, but oh, it was good pain. He felt his — no, the human’s heartbeat thrice before he gained control of himself. He understood, he understood, he understood! This fragile human wasn’t just his grounding point, this human was the heart no demon was born with. This human was what he had always been searching for, even without knowing what he was doing._

_And while annihilating this human was tempting, that throbbing ache that was a human heart, and that burning that was its emotions were too precious to destroy. They would combine forces, combine energies, combine auras. Their shadows were forever connected. The unbreakable tie of a demon and human._

_The demons had finally found what would defeat that darkness._

All three humans awoke with a gasp, only to find the face of Stanley Pines glaring down at them. He had an axe in one hand, and a bottle of what was probably way expired holy water. He was standing above Dipper, who shrieked and began crawling backwards from where he’d hit the floor. The echoes of whatever had just happened were still bouncing around his head. His heart felt about ready to burst, but with fear or with happiness Dipper was unsure. 

“Stanley! Put your axe and that water down!” 

Dipper was surprised to see Ford getting to his feet, pulling his brother away from the twins and their demons, who floated side by side, eyes wide and arms dangling. 

“You can’t be serious! You told me about those demons! You explained why they should never be summoned!” Grunkle Stan was gesturing wildly, but Dipper could see he was already giving in. Ford had this magical way of getting through to Stan. Really, it was like Dipper’s relationship with Mabel. Was it a twin thing? 

“These kids need to sit down and talk to their demons, er, guardians. They need to really figure some things out. Then we can go chasing after those geometric monstrosities. Now come on, I need your help with the design of this idea I had for a scream powered generator...” Ford led Stan outside, ignoring Stan as he struggled before complying. 

That left Mabel and Dipper alone with Dot and Bill. And the raccoons under the table. And the pig in the sink. 

“Sooo! That was cool! You two really care about us in your own demony way, it’s so cute!” Mabel chirped, pulling Dot out of the air and wrapping her arms around him. 

“Now! Who’s ready for some _Mabel Juice!”_ She sang, and Dot cheered beside her. 

Dipper stared at Bill, who was staring right back. The triangle glanced down to Dipper’s hands, and when Dipper brought his hands to his face, he saw the faint traces of a golden glow, already fading into nothing. 

When he looked up, Bill was already under the table, grabbing more pancakes and building himself a pancake throne. But Dipper could feel something sharp through what he now knew was the tie, the bond, the connection between human and demon. It was like static electricity, the feeling of a warm blanket, and something so deep Dipper didn’t even _want_ to figure it out. Not yet. 

Instead, he grinned, and crawled under the table to hand Bill more pancakes for his squishy round throne. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just role with the weird demon stuff... this is really completely from my own head from here on out. i borrowed Dot from starfleetrambo and of course the rest of the characters are Alex Hirch’s, but all this demon mumbo jumbo is comin’ straight from my brain.
> 
> d a r k n e s s  t h a t  n e e d s  d e f e a t i n g aka half the plot
> 
> thanks for reading!


	6. The Touch of a Pine Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper is more colorful than expected, and Bill is... A bit dramatic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so  
> this is  
> like.  
> so beyond late. but real life has really been butting heads with me (i had four presentations, three essays, a short story, an english midterm, my pal's birthday, and a college faire this week... and thats just THIS week)  
> basically school started and it's really hard for me to get myself to do even more writing on top of everything  
> but hey i have a new friend. theyre just as obsessed with bill as i am HOW COOL IS THAT  
> if i could buy the moon for my beta [Goshikku](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Goshikku/pseuds/Goshikku)  
> I DEFINITELY WOULD  
> anyways.... im just gonna.. go now

Breakfast took a long time, but eventually both humans had eaten their fill of pancakes, and the demons had grown bored of messing with the food. Both of the demons had shrunk down to their small size, but were always within about a yard of their humans. Mabel and Dipper hadn’t really talked about the story the demons had shown them. They didn’t want to delve into that just yet. They were still very newly bonded, and were too filled with the pleasant feeling of a new tie to worry about the emotions of the demons.

After breakfast, Mabel made the decision to knit a new sweater. But not a human sweater. This one was going to be for a particular square demon. Dot had climbed onto her head, and was holding onto her headband.

“Well, we’re off to do some knitting magic! You wanna come too, Bro?” Mabel waited at the bottom of the stairs, glancing back to where Dipper was cleaning the last plate, Bill floating beside him.

“You go on, I was thinking about maybe going out exploring today,” Dipper replied, before drying off his hands and smiling at his sister.

“Don’t get lost, okay?” she returned his smile, and went upstairs, followed by Waddles. The raccoons had disappeared a while ago, so it was just Bill and Dipper in the kitchen.

“So. You wanna go out into the woods? You could explain a little of the whole ‘needing me to keep you from going berserk’ thing.”

Bill stared at Dipper, eye narrowed. “I suppose it would be helpful for you to know what you’re bonded to. I _am_ the most powerful demon of all time, even if many of my outbursts have been attributed to my brother dear. Humans have always noticed him and overlooked me.”

Dipper didn’t know how to respond to that. He would have used the faint emotional waves from the bond, but it was strangely blank. Instead, he just nodded and set down the towel he’d dried his hands with. “Come on then. A little exploring will be nice.”

Dipper got his vest from the coat hooks, and Bill followed him out the door. They walked - well, Dipper walked, Bill just floated a few paces behind - for about twenty minutes before Bill grabbed onto Dipper’s hair, and started pulling him backwards.

“Bill, wha–” Dipper stopped talking a second later, because he could feel a tugging sensation somewhere in the back of his mind, around where the extra emotions had been. Once again, much like when Dot had pulled Bill into Dipper’s world, the colors drained out of the world. He could feel his form changing, too. His hands felt icy cold, and both his eyes hurt like they were on fire. He turned around, looking for Bill, but the demon was nowhere to be found. Dipper growled in frustration. Where had the demon gone! He nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. It sounded almost like… Like Bill’s voice.

“Bill…?” He asked, almost hesitantly. His hands felt like they were going to freeze themselves off. He looked down, and this time he didn’t just _nearly_ jump, he full on leapt backwards. His hands were flickering blue, icey flames licking at his wrists and fingertips.

Thankfully, the moment he noticed this, the fire died, and there was the distinct sensation of something being torn from him, near his heart.

“Welcome to the Mindscape, kid!” Bill’s voice was back, and it appeared the demon was completely unaware of whatever had just happened.

“Bill, what the heck just happened!” Dipper was trying really hard not to panic, which was hard, seeing as apparently he was in the world of _pure power_. The memory things Bill and Dot had shown them mentioned this place.

“We went through into the Mindscape, duh. Now come on!” Bill was already tugging Dipper along by his thumb.

“But Bill, I– that was– oh, forget it.” He’d ask again later. For now, there was exploring to do, and man, was this place was huge. It was a forest, with a sky so black it looked like something from outer space. The ground was grassy and soft, and a strange light was emanating from all the trees around him. Pine trees, Dipper noticed with amusement. Everything was in greys and blacks and the occasional white. Bill dragged him to a clearing, with a stump in the middle and a small pond off to the side. The sky wasn’t as black here. In fact, it varied shades from almost white to dark grey.

“This is the calmest place in here! It’s safest for you, since you’re not used to how things work around here yet. Go sit down, I need to get some things ready.” Bill pushed him the stump, and Dipper sat down, albeit reluctantly.

As soon as Dipper was seated, Bill went hurrying off, making odd hand gestures and his glow flashing red.

Dipper stayed seated for about a minute before he got up, and crept over to the pond. It looked harmless enough, and very slowly, Dipper reached out a hand to the water. The second his hand touched the water, brilliant blue spread from his fingertips, turning about a square yard of the water a deep blue, the color of lapis lazuli. He sprung back, hands landing on the ground. Were his fingers touched, the grass turned green. He lifted his hand, staring at it intently. Quickly, he bent down, pressing his cheek against the ground. But the grass stayed grey there. He jumped up, and ran to the stump. He pulled up his pajama’s pants leg and pressed a knee to the wood, but nothing happened. When he put his palm on the stump, however, and it turned the browns and greens of weathered wood.

At that moment, he felt something. The hand still against the stump tensed, and a shiver ran up his spine. Something was there, behind him. Something… Well, not bad, exactly. Chaotic. He slowly stood up and turned around, hands raised in defense in case of an attack.

There, standing at the edge of the clearing, was another boy. He looked to be about Dipper’s age, with hair that seemed to defy gravity with its boisterous curls and a pointed face. He wore a sort of… tunic thing, that hung in the back like suit tails and was closed in the front. A black bowtie was tied at his collar. His arms, legs, hands, and feet were completely black, as if he was wearing some sort of skin suit. Only it was very obviously not a suit, but pure blackness. The tips of his fingers were glowing a sickening red, and his right eye was light yellow, the edges tinged with red and the pupil was a narrow slit, while his left eye was the same red as his fingers, seeping out in an ominous glow. In fact, the only colors in his entire form was the pale yellow of his eye and the red glow. His smile looked purely insane - too wide, the teeth just a little too sharp.

“Hello, Pine Tree. Nice to see you around, hmm?” The boy’s voice was Bill’s voice, and scared the heebie jeebies out of Dipper.

“Aaah! Bill! What is that?! Are you a human?” Dipper was inching forwards, even if he was terrified of the boy that was apparently Bill Cipher.

“Noo, I’m Bill Cipher! But I needed a body to mimic yours, so we can fight together! Take over the world together! _TAKE OVER DIMENSIONS TOGETHER!”_ The voice changed, becoming booming and loud enough to make Dipper clap his hands over his ears.

“No! No destroying the world!” Dipper was only about ten feet away now, and Bill’s strange form hadn’t moved. He just stood there, glowing threateningly. “You may be a creature of chaos, but I’m a creature of peace! So, I say no destroying anything.” Five feet, and from here he could see the faint white sparkles in the demon’s hair.

“You need to calm down.” He reached out his hand without even thinking, placing it squarely in the center of the demon’s chest. As soon as he did, all traces of red disappeared, and slowly, yellow began to appear. His tunic turned gold, his hair turned blonde, his skin become a warm brown. His left eye went from red to white, and soft pants and boots the color of coal became apparent. His arms were bare, shoulders tense. The smile faded, the pupil widened.

“See? Not so bad. Just needed a ‘lil bit of a calming touch is all.” Dipper cautiously pulled his hand back, glad when the colors stayed in the demon’s new body.

The blue of the pond and the green of the grass had faded as soon as he’d pulled his hand away.

“Pine Tree?” The demon’s voice was softer, almost human. He looked confused, mouth twisting downward slightly. His eyes were unfocused.

“Get your balance, Chippy. You kinda lost it there for a moment.” Dipper placed his hand on the demon’s shoulder, grinning slightly to himself that he was just a smidge taller than Bill.

“No no, that was on purpose. Had to see if you’ve got the right touch. Can’t go fighting the darkness if your touch doesn’t give me back my colors!” He shook his head, then grinned at Dipper. “Congratulations! You passed the test! You’re my Pine Tree alright.”

Dipper glared, but it was half-hearted. “I’m the taller one, you should be bowing to _me_.”

Bill just laughed, shoulders hunching up and shaking in giggles. “Oh you’re a funny human, kid! Now come on, it’s time to go back to your world. We’re not nearly strong enough to sustain this form, even here.”

Dipper wasn’t sure what that meant, but he nodded anyways. He still couldn’t feel any emotions through the faint bond, but he could feel it sapping his energy. “Okay, let’s go back. You’re gonna have to lead the way.”

Bill took Dipper’s hand, and both noticed the small spark that danced about between them. “See you on the round-side!” Bill crowed, before tugging, and Dipper took one last glance at the curly haired Bill before the colors drained out of that beautiful hair, and Dipper slipped into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why do all my chapters end in dipper either falling asleep or unconscious is this foreshadowing to the actual end  
> lmao nope im not that smart its just the easiest break  
> did u know u can follow me on tumblr  
> im agentsharkie  
> wow  
> how cool is that


	7. Future Requirements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demons do not get worried.   
> Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short im so sorry ;A; 
> 
> (remember how amazing my [beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Goshikku/pseuds/Goshikku) is. remember. always.) 
> 
> anyways... just a filler thing for training the next day 

When Dipper woke up, he was greeted with the sight of Mabel, both demons, Waddles, Wendy, and Sammy all sitting in a circle playing Shoots and Ladders. By the looks of it, it wasn’t going very smoothly. Dot and Mabel were arguing with Wendy, who had Sammy sitting on top of her head, squeaking in fury, while Waddles was sitting a little ways off with the game box in his mouth. Bill was staring straight at Dipper, in his triangle form once more, Dipper noted.

“Pine Tree! You’re awake!” The yellow demon floated over to where Dipper was lying on the couch. “Please save me from these idiots!”

Dipper groaned, turning onto his back and stretching. “What on earth happened, Bill? What time is it?”

“Bill brought you back from the forest unconscious! But it’s okay Bro-Bro, he said that’s normal. Humans aren’t meant to go into the Mindscape apparently, so your body is just recovering!” Mabel piped up, hopping over the game board, Dot in tow. “How do you feel? Bill did something to boost your body’s energy, he said it would help you recover.”

Dipper slowly took stock of his body. There was a mild dull ache in the back of his head, his hands felt tingly, and he was a little bit tired, but other than that, he felt fine. “I’m good, Mabs. Hey Bill, how’d you manage to carry me all the way here?” The demon was still no wider than a dictionary.

Mabel jumped in again before Bill had a chance to respond. “He was big, Dip! Big enough to carry you all bridal-style in his arms! He looked worried, too.”

“I was not _worried,_ Shooting Star. Demons do not get _worried._ I was annoyed at the kid. He’s my human, he should be able to withstand a little excitement.”

“Oh please, Bill! You haven’t taken your eye off him for one second. Star’s right. You were worried. I mean, you said it yourself. He’s your human. You’re a bit attached to him.” Dot had floated over by now, to perch atop Mabel’s head.

Bill glared at all three of them, crossing his arms defiantly. “Come on Pine Tree, now that you’re awake you can go to sleep _properly._ You need real rest, not a magic induced mini-coma.” He reached forward to grab Dipper by the pant leg, dragging him off the couch.

“Hey! Bill! Chill out, I’m comi–” Dipper didn’t finish his sentence before he face planted on the ground. So his legs felt like jelly when he stood up. Good to know.

“Hold up there, dude! Need a hand?” Wendy’s arm was reaching towards him, but before she even touched him, Bill was placed firmly between them.

“Uh, Bill? Unless you plan on helping him yourself, and you’re a little small for that, could I help him upstairs?” Wendy cautiously asked, trying to edge around the triangular demon.

Bill didn’t answer however, just slowly grew in size until he was big enough to carry Dipper. Which was exactly what he did. He glared at Wendy, pulling Dipper into his own arms (much to Dipper’s annoyance), and floated out of the room without a word. He didn’t even look down at Dipper, instead just floated silently. Everyone in the room stared after them, a little befuddled.

“Okay! Who’s ready to get back down to business! Team Sandy, Dot and I are _totally_ beating you, so give it up!” Mabel was right back in the game, Dot glowing menacingly.

“Oh no you’re not! Me ‘n Sammy are gonna dominate you two!” Wendy challenged, clenching her fists.

The voices of his friends faded as Dipper was carried upstairs. His body wouldn’t respond well enough to fight back against Bill or get the demon to stop carrying him, so he just went along with it. It wasn’t so bad, he supposed. There was a soft warmth emanating from the flat yellow surface, and Dipper almost cuddled up against his demon.

“Hey, Bill? Can I ask a question?” his voice was a bit muffled, but the demon looked down at him in response.

“Sure thing, kid. What’s up?”

“Why did you show me that other form? Why were you so… chaotic in that other form? How come I can create color with a touch of my hands and only my hands in the Mindscape?”

“Woah woah woah, hold up there. That’s more than just one question.” Bill reached the attic, dumping Dipper a bit gracelessly on his bed. “But fine, I’ll answer some questions.” He waited till Dipper was sitting in bed, blanket pulled up to his lap.

“That’s the eventual form I’ll be able to take, when our bond is stronger. Demons can imitate other forms, if they can draw enough energy from the original form.”

Dipper thought about that for a moment. “So when our bond becomes stronger, you’ll be able to keep that form?” Dipper liked that idea. When the human-ish Bill had calmed down, he’d been kinda… cute. Oh god. Dipper stopped thinking about that.

“Hmm, you bet it! But that’ll be a while. That form is a lot mentally weaker without you knowing how to defend it. You remember how the lack of color went along with my slightly chaotic nature, and how that changed to calm with color at your touch?”

“Yeah…”

“Without that color you gave me, I’m veeeery susceptible to the darkness. Now, that darkness is the same stuff you saw in the limbo we pulled you, Shooting Star, and Sixer into. It’s essentially what tempts all demons into blackness. There’s… dimensions where Bill Cipher is the destroyer of the Pines family. Your enemy. But here, that darkness is supposed to be defeated. And with the help of both our siblings, we can do that.” Bill had shrunk down to his small size again, and was in front of Dipper, toes brushing the blanket.

Dipper was reeling with information. So demons could not only leech off of energy to create alternate forms, but there was also some sort of dark power that tempted Bill and Dot? And the thing about other dimensions? Bill destroying his family? It was too much. He had no idea what to say. “I… Yikes. Okay. So the darkness is bad. How do we defeat it? When you were all colorless, you said you needed a body to mimic mine to fight together.”

“In our current forms, Dot and I can’t feel much, - except maybe some things like extreme anger, the want to destroy things, etcetera etcetera - we need squishy emotions like wanting to protect you and your sister. And sure, that’ll make us weaker, but the darkness feeds off of anger. So we need to be able to… care.” Bill looked positively annoyed with that fact.

Dipper smiled tiredly. “That’s kinda sweet. You need a form that can have emotions so you can fight off evil with me. So how do we do it? How do we get that form?”

“Training! Tomorrow is gonna be day one of demon and human training! But also just strengthening the bond. I won’t do it tonight, your mind’s in no shape for dream adventures right now, but we can access the Mindscape like that. Your powers won’t be as strong there, you’ll have to actually learn instead of just unconsciously using them, but it won’t tax your body so much.” Dipper could be completely wrong, but Bill looked almost… Excited. His glow was extra bright, and the ache in the back of Dipper’s head had been replaced with a fuzzy, warm hum.

“As much as I want to keep talking about this, - especially seeing as I have a million questions - I think I need some genuine sleep.” It was only 6:13pm according to the clock on the bedside, but Dipper was exhausted. “You’re not gonna leave, are you?”

“Go to sleep, kid. We’ll need to get up early tomorrow anyways. Lots of work to do!” Bill floated closer to Dipper, reaching out and patting him on the cheek. Then he centered himself between Dipper, the ceiling, and the two ends of Dipper’s bed, and closed his eye.

The white mist that had been there the night before appeared, and Dipper curled up under the covers.

It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours, and he was already attached to the demon. Maybe… maybe this wasn’t so bad. Sure, the whole fact Bill was a demon of chaos was a little worrisome, and that darkness Bill had talked about did not sound fun, but Dipper hadn’t felt so complete in a while. Not to mention that it was obvious Mabel and Dot got along swimmingly. He smiled to himself, glancing up at his demon one last time before closing his eyes, letting sleep quickly overtake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would u look at that   
> it ended with dipper falling asleep again   
> how amazing   
> IVE BEEN KINDA TALKING ABOUT THIS WITH MY PAL TODAY and i have great ideas for hella gay shippy moments with bill n dip dont u worry this friend is giving my muse the kick to get this thing written


	8. A Small Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No training session can go without at least one little hiccup!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's sick home today   
> its me   
> im so sad
> 
> the only person worth mentioning is [rebecca](http://gosshiku-hime-wa-yami-san.tumblr.com/) because she turns the mess that is my writing into a readable thing. she probably uses magic 
> 
> now go have fun! ...by doing something productive with your life that isnt reading this “tasteful trash” [quote from my pal about this fic]

“The first rule of demon and human training is this: emotional attachment is key! You humans all have an extremely wide range of emotions, and there’s no hiding that. Bill and I, we don’t have that. Unbonded demons have no sense of things like love, joy, sadness, or fear. Now that we’re bonded to you two, we’ll get a little bit of that, but not much! We both have alternate forms that can feel as many emotions as you two which we will attempt to form once we’re all strong enough. Until then, let the training begin!”

Dot’s voice was way too chipper for seven o’clock in the morning. The demons had excitedly dragged both Dipper and Mabel out of bed before the sun was even rising, shoved clothes in their faces, then a backpack for each Pines twin and they were out the door. Dipper was still half-asleep, nearly falling flat on his face every time he tripped. The demons had directed them to the exact place Dipper had summoned them not too long ago. When Dipper had asked why they couldn’t just teleport, like that first night, Bill had huffed and Dot had glared. Apparently Bill wasn’t supposed to do that with Dipper. ‘No teleporting physical flesh!’ Dot had said.

“Dipper! Pay attention!”

Dot’s voice filtered back into Dipper’s thoughts. Oh yeah. Training. The whole reason they were back at the clearing.

“Earth to Bro-Bro, come in Bro-Bro?” Mabel was waving her hands in front of Dipper’s face. That made him scrunch up his nose and focus back on his sister and the demons.

“I’m here, Bro-Bro is here!” Dipper batted her hands away. “Okay. So what are we doing?”

Dot looked positively vexed. “You and I will have a small chat, while Shooting Star and my brother will do the same. You two will have to tell us at least three facts about the other, and Bill and I will do the same. Think of it as a bonding experience, a way to get to know each other from another’s perspective.”

Bill and Dipper both groaned. “Seriously, Brother? We’re doing _this_ thing?” Bill voiced Dipper’s thought’s perfectly. They were even both crossing their arms.

“ _Yes,_ William. Now, if we could all just–”

“WAIT!” Mabel jumped in, grabbing Dot and pulling him down to hold him with both hands very close to her face. “Bill’s actual name is _William?”_

Dot sighed (the demons didn’t even breathe, and yet he made a huffing sound?), and stared straight at Mabel. “No, but since we demons don’t actually have human names, I will occasionally call him William just to annoy him.”

“Please never listen to my dearest brother _Dominatrix._ He’s annoying and hates me,” Bill grumbled. He’d migrated to standing on Dipper’s shoulder, so they could both be annoyed, but Dot flew into him at top speed, slamming him off. The two demons hovered there, eyes glowing a faint red, neither saying a word, but their hands were glowing blue and they were slowly growing in size.

Mabel was having the time of her life with this new fact revealed to her. “Oh my gosh, Dipper! You and your demon both have ridiculous first names!”

Dipper gave Mabel his best evil, threatening glare. His birthname was a ‘never to be talked of’ subject, and Mabel knew that. Thankfully Bill and Dot were too caught up in staring each other down for Bill to try to get the name out of Dipper, and Mabel just smirked and let it go.

“Since Billy doesn’t know how to play well with others, we’ll first team up with our own humans, tell each other about ourselves for as long as I think is right, and _then_ we will switch,” said Dot, even as he rubbed one small hand over his eye. “Please just do this, it’s for your own good.”

Bill floated over to Dipper, who still had his arms crossed. “Come on, Pine Tree. Let’s get personal up here! I want to know your darkest and deepest secrets and fears.” The demons had grown again sometime during their small argument, and were somewhere between book size and full blown full size.

“I’m not telling you my deepest secrets, no matter how many times you ask. Let’s just get it over with, okay?” Dipper huffed, dragging Bill along with him by one hand.

Five minutes into their “bonding experience” and all Dipper had a very odd list of things he knew about Bill:

  1. Bill was younger than Dot by an undetermined period of time.
  2. Bill was also extremely young for a demon. According to him, if his demon years somehow translated into human years, he’d be about the same age as Dipper himself.
  3. In their square and triangle forms, he and Dot couldn’t feel many physical things.
  4. Bill might have had something to do with a certain library whose name starts with the letter _A_ burning down.
  5. Bill was the real demon of destruction. Dot just liked knowledge and science and boring stuff like that.
  6. Bill had visited alternate timelines a few times.



Dipper had, in turn, given Bill a bit of insight into his own character:

  1. He wasn’t as tall as Mabel.
  2. His favorite color was neither blue nor red, but green - even though lately yellow hadn’t seemed half bad.
  3. He once pretended his stuffed animal was his real familiar.
  4. He wanted to go back into the Mindscape again and test out that colour-touch thing.
  5. He was terrible at cooking everything except various kinds of noodles.
  6. The birthmark on his forehead was his enemy since he was able to go to school.
  7. His (and Mabel’s) fourteenth birthday was in exactly a month, which was two days before they would have to leave Gravity Falls and go back to the normal world, and back to school.



The birthmark detail had made Bill yank his hair up to see, making Dipper yelp in surprise. However, it was when Dipper had revealed that last fact that things stopped going according to plan. It was Bill’s turn to say something, as they’d been taking turns, but that last fact about Dipper’s birthday had made him go… still.

“Bill? Are you okay?” Dipper waved a hand in front of his eye, but there wasn’t any sort of response. He glanced over to where Dot and Mabel were happily giggling themselves silly, then back to Bill. “Come on, Chippy. Haha, you got me, now I wanna know more about you. You could tell me another huge historical disaster you’ve caused.”

Bill didn’t respond. Dipper noticed his glow was fading as well, and his pupil was tiny. His little arms hung below him uselessly.

Dipper reached forward to poke him or shake him, but before his finger touched the yellow demon, a hand gripped his wrist. A small black hand which was glowing blue grabbed his wrist. Bill’s grip was tight and it hurt! “Bill, stop that, you’re hurting me.”

Mabel and Dot’s giggles had stopped, and Dipper could feel Dot’s presence behind him. “Dipper, step away from Bill. What did you say right before this?”

“I just mentioned how mine and Mabel’s birthday is in exactly a month! I—”

“Curses, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t think he could be affected by mentions of those other timelines, but here he is… Dipper, step away from my brother this instant!” Dot snapped, but Dipper couldn’t pull away. “Bill! Let go of your Pine Tree!” Dot was full size now, his hand raised threateningly.

_“The demons will fall and the humans will wilt.”_

Dipper and Mabel both jumped in surprise. Bill’s voice sounded even more echoey than normal, and his yellow was slowly becoming entirely red. He’d grown past his full size, and was almost double the size of Dot.

“This is not a dark dimension! Remember his heart, Brother!” Dot almost sounded desperate.  

_“Heartless souls cannot heal broken hearts.”_

“BEGONE!” Dot’s voice became deafening, and had the same echoey tone to it that Bill’s normal voice had. “LET GO OF YOUR COLOUR, CIPHER!” as he said that, his hand became blindingly bright blue as he raised it, ready to strike.

_“A colourless world for a shattered demon and a broken human!”_

_“ENOUGH!!”_ Dot’s hand came down on Bill’s arm, severing it clean in half. The hand dispersed in a black puff of mist, and the now huge and fully red demon recoiled back.

_“Power internal if he only overcomes the fear!”_

“These humans are under my protection! The boy, he is your heart, fight that dark shadow and overcome it, Brother Mine!” The blue demon was growing in size to match his brother. “Your shadow is not lost, and the gold of this human boy is still in reach!”

Sparks of bright white power were jumping along Bill’s edges, and Dipper could feel only a void in the back of his head. A very distinct emptiness, a true negative space. “Bill!” he shouted, stepping forward. “Please come back!”

“Dipper, get back now, he’s not himself, he’s lost in the darkne—”

“BILL CIPHER! YOU COME BACK TO ME!” Dipper screamed up at the huge demon, and for one moment, there was a flicker of yellow. Dipper’s own image briefly flashed across the demon’s entire body, before it was smothered in red again. “Please, Bill. I just got you, you can’t do this…” Dipper whispered, still staring up at what had been his Bill only moments before. Yellow overcame the red once again, and Bill looked down at Dipper.

“Look for me in th—” Bill’s voice sounded inside Dipper’s head for one moment - and Dipper knew it was definitely inside his head and not spoken aloud, as it was also the same voice his human-y form had used after being calmed down.

Red took over yellow again, and the demon began to glow even brighter than ever before.

“Get back, Star!” Dot shouted, slamming into Mabel and pushing her to the ground. He was large enough to completely shield her from the pure power emanating from Bill Cipher.

It happened in a heartbeat, the power grew too intense, and in a blinding flash accompanied with an earth shattering bang, every last bit of light and red disappeared. And with it went Bill. Dipper stood unharmed, one hand reaching out to where his demon had been only moments before.

“Bill…?” Dipper’s voice sounded tiny compared to the booming voice that had come from the huge, terrifying form Bill had become.  

“He’s retreated to the Mindscape, you can’t follow him there. He can’t come back unless he defeats that darkness that overtook him. I’m sorry.” Dot had shrunk down quickly, and had Mabel’s hand in his and his other on Dipper’s shoulder.

“But we… Things were just working out. It was… working,” Dipper mumbled, staring at the ground. The grass wasn’t even ruffled.

“...Come on, Bro-Bro, let’s go back. Grunkle Stan and Ford are gonna be worried, since they probably heard that boom,” Mabel murmured, reaching out to lightly rest her hand on Dipper’s arm. “We’ll figure out how to get him back, K?”

“Yeah…” But Dipper had no idea how to get into the Mindscape, and he had no idea if Dot could get there, since it wasn’t technically his. He’d just gotten a familiar, and once again, he had none.

_I guess it was too good to be true._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry   
> not really   
> things will be fine eventually 
> 
> i think


	9. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to get Dipper into the Mindscape... Hmm...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for this filler thing ;n; 
> 
> it has come to my attention a few of you are missing Tad   
> well i met him first as Dot, bc i haven't been in the fandom THAT long. so yeah. sorry for it....
> 
> my fave is my [beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Goshikku/profile) bc she’s literally the best

When Dipper woke up the next morning, he half expected Dot to be gone, and for the entire past two days to be a dream. Waddles and Mabel would be without the blue square, Sammy and Wendy would have no idea who “Bill” was, everything would have been a dream.

He didn’t dare open his eyes at first. He kept them squeezed closed, curled up under his blanket. He hadn’t dreamed at all. The aftermath of Bill’s little… outburst had felt a bit surreal.

Dot had given some long, pointless explanation that had really just been “He’s trapped by the darkness because of the mention of your birthday”. He hadn’t explained the birthday bit at all.  He at least could’ve somehow make it sound like it wasn’t completely Dipper’s fault.

Mabel had been her usual comforting self. She’d made him hot chocolate and told him “We’ll get him back, Bro-Bro. Don’t you worry.” She’d talked about how worried Bill had looked when he’d brought Dipper back from their fiasco in the woods, and how he was way too attached to leave for good.

Wendy had given him a pat on the back. Sammy had chirped worriedly.

Soos had given him a hug. Ruby had licked his hand.

Ford had actually offered to try researching a proper summoning circle specifically for Bill, but Dot had said that wouldn’t work. So Ford had retreated to his lab below the shack.

Marco and Martin had both stared at him, then disappeared to continue their ‘coon business.

Grunkle Stan had actually been the most helpful, telling Dipper to not give up, because “If there’s anything you’re good at, Dipper, it’s finding things out even if the entire world is working against you.”

He’d gone to bed early again, curled up under his blankets, and tried to think of ways to get Bill out. So he was now in the Mindscape, the grayscale world that Dipper had some sort of magical ability in. There had been that moment when Bill had been himself, and he’d told Dipper to look for him in the ‘blank’. Going by the fact Dot had already known he’d go into the Mindscape, Dipper guessed that was what the end of Bill’s sentence had been. “Look for me in the Mindscape.”

But _how?_

“Heya, Bro-Bro? Grunkle Stan made waffles. You want any? There’s even blueberry syrup!” Mabel’s voice appeared beside him, and he slowly cracked an eye open.

“Just let me get dressed, K? I’ll be down in a minute,” Dipper replied, not failing to notice a certain blue square behind Mabel. He had a bright purple scarf wrapped around his middle.

After a kiss on the forehead and an encouraging pat on his arm, his sister was gone again. However, her demon remained.

“What do you want, Dot? Here to lecture me some more?” Dipper sighed, swinging his legs off the bed and padding over to his dresser. Long sleeve shirt and shorts, nothing special today.

“Bill didn’t leave. He protected you. Remember when I pushed Shooting Star down but not you right before he went nuclear?” Dot floated over to sit on the dresser beside an old paper hat made out of a map. “That’s because that physical magic can hurt other humans, but it can’t hurt you. You’re Bill’s human, so his physical magic is harmless against you. Sure, it hurt that first time he came through to this dimension, but now you two have brushed shadows, now you two are bonded, it won’t ever hurt you again. His mental magic, however… That could destroy you. The darkness that took over his form could manipulate his mental magic and completely wreck your mind. So he left, to keep that from happening.”

“But I can still feel him, Dot! I can still feel him here!” Dipper gestured wildly to the back of his head, where that void still floated about. “It’s barely been a few days, and I miss him!” He shouldn’t have been attached to Bill already. It’s not like the demon was overly nice and friendly, like Dot and Mabel. But he’d been… He’d been Dipper’s demon. And that moment in the Mindscape, right after his little tantrum, had made Dipper feel like maybe they really could get along and work well together.

“Dipper, calm down. He’s not gone for good, he’s just locked up in a cage with only one key,” Dot quickly tried consoling Dipper, both hands resting on his shoulders.

“A key? _One_ key? How the heck do I find that key!”

“Why, you’re the key. I thought that much was obvious.”

Dipper threw a shoe at Dot as the demon scuttled out of the room.

“Think I could get in there while I’m asleep? Bill _did_ mention that could work, I just wouldn’t be as strong there…”

The entire day had been devoted to brainstorming ideas for getting Dipper into the Mindscape. So far, nothing seemed to plausible. The idea of using sleep had been said multiple times, but it was getting late and honestly, Dipper was going in circles.

“That could work, only there’s no one who sleeps who could teach you. Dot Matrix is a demon, and therefore doesn’t sleep. Plus, you said you can’t get in there without Bill’s assistance, correct, Dot?” Ford said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“That’s right. My brother crafted that place out of madness and anger. There’s no way in from the outside. Well, that’s the case for everyone but Dipper here…” Dot trailed off, tugging on his tie thoughtfully.

“Grunkle Ford, last summer you accidently put yourself into a Dream Sleep, remember? With that special brand of fairy dust the gnomes threw on you? You could control your dreams?” Mabel piped up from her nest of blankets in front of the TV. Dipper had thought she was asleep, but apparently not.

“Hmm, yes, good thought. Dipper, do you think that would help? Dot, do you think you could give him tips?”

Dipper thought for a moment, but the answer was only ever going to be a “yes” or a “maybe”. He just wanted his demon back. “I mean, probably? Combined with a few ideas on what I’m trying to do, I guess it could work. Dot?”

“It _is_ the best idea we’ve come up with yet… Stanford, you didn’t happen to save any of that stuff, did you? I fear for my brother if we leave him in there for too long…” Dot’s glow had become nearly non-existent, and he looked a bit droopy. He blinked twice, then went over to Mabel and wiggled his way into her blanket nest. She smiled a small, sleepy smile, and wrapped her arms around him.

“Actually, as I like to keep magical things I come across, I have just enough of the dust to work on someone as small as Dipper!”

Dipper was momentarily offended by the “small” remark, but let it go quickly. “Can you get it now? Is it okay if I use it?”

“Dipper, of cour– Marco, cease that!” Marco the raccoon had come up behind Ford and had climbed up his back and shoved his hands in front of Ford’s eyes, between his face and his glasses. “Of course you can use it. Bill is your familiar, you need him back. Give me just a moment and I can go get it for you. For goodness sakes, Marco!” Ford went off grumbling, tugging on the chittery raccoon attached to his head.

Dipper watched them go, trying not to think about the different ways this could go wrong. If this worked, at least he’d have Bill back. But last summer, it had taken a whole week to get Ford out of the half asleep, half awake state he’d been in.

 _‘Please let this work,’_ Dipper prayed silently, ‘ _Please just let this work, let Bill come back.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be posted tomorrow (or tonight if i get impatient which is highly likely) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> it has human bill and fluffy shippy moments whose ready


	10. Energy, Shadows, Darkness, and Dipper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story and something... new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i completely caved and am posting this on the same day as the one before. that is because i watched the latest episode and aaaAAAAAAA  
> anyways   
> look i did fluffy shmoop and some explanation what the demon and human bonds are

_Pine Tree._

**_Where… Am I?_ **

_Pine Tree, you need to wake up. You can’t sleep here._

**_Bill?_ **

_Mmm. Now_ _wake up_.

Dipper sat up, shaking his head in confusion. The last thing he’d remembered was Ford blowing the fairy dust in his eyes. Wait, where was he? He could feel grass beneath his hands, but the air was very, very still, and he couldn’t see a thing. It was still pitch black.

_Your eyes aren’t open, you idiot._

“What? Bill? Where are you?” Dipper reached forward, groping around in the dark to find the hard edges of his triangular demon. His hand never found any edges. Instead, he found a squishy cheek and soft hair. And a mouth? It was smiling, and Dipper’s fingers momentarily felt sharp teeth.

_That’s my pretty face alright. Now get your hand out of my mouth and_ open your eyes.

“I, uh–”

_Oh, that’s just great. You can’t see. Why can’t you see? You need sight to imagine things in this place._

Dipper reached up to his own face, feeling about for his eyes and then, when finding they were open, stilled. “Um. Bill? Why can’t I see?”

_Well, I’m guessing you had to put something in your eyes to go into this kind of state, right? That or you’re using a dream manipulating substance?_

“I kinda did both?” he shrugged his shoulders a bit sheepishly, reaching out to find Bill again.

_You’re a work of art, Pine Tree. I pulled you into this place because you were nearly conscious but also nearly asleep. What was it, anyways? Kiss of a siren? Vampire mind voodoo? Did you get knocked out?_

“Fairy dust from Ford, actually. So how did I end up here? I didn’t come here when I fell asleep last night… I mean, I didn’t sleep much at all, but I did dream, so why didn’t I come here then?” From the feel of it, Bill was sitting in front of him. It felt like he was wearing the same tunic thing and bow tie from that time in the Mindscape two days ago.

_Come on, you’ll need to wash your eyes out with some Mindscape water to get rid of the haze of that dust._

It was only when Bill’s hand slipped into his and Dipper was pulled up into a standing position that he realized he hadn’t once heard Bill’s actual voice. He’d heard his words, but no voice. “How’re you talking like that, Bill? Without your voice?”

_I’m not using my voice?_

“Oh! Ha! You’re right, I _was_ still using nonverbal speech!” Bill’s softer, human voice surrounded Dipper, and the hand holding his own tightened it’s grip. “I forget I actually have a mouth and vocal cords in this body!”

“How’d you get into this body, anyways? I thought we needed a stronger bond? More emotional connection?” Dipper was walking _very_ slowly, hoping he wouldn’t trip. He was also probably squeezing Bill’s hand to death.

“I’ll tell you about that in a moment. First off, this is gonna be a bit cold!”

Dipper didn’t have a moment to respond before freezing liquid was hitting his face, and he had to cover his eyes with one hand to block out the light.

“AAAH! Bill! What the heck!” He opened his eyes slowly, only to be met with the brightest grin he’d ever seen. He was somehow still holding Bill’s hand, and Bill was so full of color it put a small grin on Dipper’s face.

“You know, Pine Tree, staring really does look ridiculous on you.”

Dipper glared, and yanked his hand away. Immediately, the color drained right of Bill.

“Remember, you’re not actually here. You’re sort of half-dreaming, so you haven’t got your full range of power,” Bill huffed. “Now give me your hand, I like color. With color comes my full range of emotions.”

Dipper sighed, but let Bill hold his hand again. “So? You gonna explain… How I’m here? How you have that body again? What happened when you…” The memory of Bill’s pure power and the feeling of a void in the back of his head filled Dipper’s mind. The void was gone, replaced with a warm tingle, but he could still recall the look of anger in Bill’s eyes...

“Pine Tree, you okay? You blanked on me for a second there,” Bill’s voice filtered into his dark thoughts, and Dipper shook himself, smiling up at the other.

“I’m good, Bill. Let’s just sit down somewhere and you can explain everything, okay?”

Bill didn’t even answer, just dragged him down to sit under one of the many grey trees. A pine tree, he noted. As soon as Dipper’s free hand touched the grass, brilliant green surrounded his palm. The little action made him smile. There was something about that it was _him_ doing that, something that he didn’t understand, but that he hoped he would someday.

“So, you probably want to know what happened when I got all big and red and scary, right?” Bill was staring at Dipper intently when he looked up, and Dipper was a bit taken aback by the intensity of that single golden eye. He simply nodded in response.

“When my brother yanked me oh-so-gently through the portal you created with your summons, some of the darkness we’ve talked about wiggled itself into my demon equivalent of a heart. It got in and I didn’t even notice. You know I can see other timelines, or at least reflections of other timelines?”

Dipper nodded again, more slowly.

“Well, in one of those, on your thirteenth birthday I… Let’s just say I bring about the apocalypse. That timeline’s Bill Cipher is one chaotic guy. His obsession with you was more related to defeating your family and dimension. So as soon as I thought about that, the darkness latched onto the small amount of doubt I had that I could really be the Pines family friend.

“I lost control. The darkness took over me, said some stuff, and if I hadn’t fled the physical world, it could have used my power to hurt your sister and my brother pretty badly. So I left, in hopes you would search for me here, in my world of pure power. I fought with that darkness for a while, shutting down this place and not letting anyone from the outside in. That’s why you couldn’t get in without the fairy dust. I opened it up again only a bit before your little mind started poking about outside my defenses, and I dragged you in.

“You and your sister aren’t just tied to us, Pine Tree. Dot and I have mentioned that yours and my shadow are tied together, while Shooting Star’s is tied to Dot’s, right? It’s more like our shadows have literally become one, and not just the ones cast by light. All being’s have a certain amount of power, or energy, call it what you will. For us demons, that’s a very large amount. For you humans, it’s even more. You humans have more energy than any being could ever have use for. But you’re all so caught up in yourselves you never learn how to share it. It’s very rare you ever partner up with a creature that knows how to utilize your power.

“Anyways. So every being has a certain amount of energy. Think of that energy as a light, right? And what does light cast? A shadow. Your shadow is what your energy leaves behind after it’s used, and you use your energy all the time. For breathing, walking, thinking, those sorts of things all use up energy. Magic uses up a lot more, but simple, everyday actions also tap into that reservoir of power. The shadow is like the footprint, the stuff left behind. But it too is extremely powerful, and has a much darker ability. Cast your shadow on another being and you can prevent them from tapping into their energy, therefore killing them. No no, don’t panic, it takes many human years to learn how to so much as direct your own shadow. Using it to kill others is nearly impossible for you humans, and there are barely any other species that would ever think of doing such a thing.

“Our shadows are now one. That’s because my energy is now going through you, and visa versa. In Shooting Star’s case, it’s likely she’ll develop empathetic capabilities. My brother understands humans more than any other demon, and she’ll reflect that in the simplest way her gentle human heart and caring energy understand: understanding emotions. She’ll actually balance out my brother’s practical knowledge with her warm and loving understanding of the characteristics of the metaphorical human heart. My power, on the other hand, is a lot more chaotic. It’s so chaotic your energy won’t ever try to match it. Instead, you counter it. Your color-touch, that’s the first step. You can calm me with the touch of your hands. Your hands are focal points when it comes to power - similar points include your heart, your eyes, and the center of your back, but your hands are the strongest. When you touch me or objects in the Mindscape, you’re channeling your energy into my own. You’re the antidote to my poison, Pine Tree.

“You can imagine how having an evil darkness take control of me and my shadow and energy could be a problem. If it had fully taken over, it could have manipulated my shadow, and yours with it. Our energies combined could get very dangerous. We can’t combine them, at least not until you know how to lock me up in here. I may be a being of chaos, but I also… care about you. That means no conquering your world, no matter how tempting it is.

“You can say something now, Dipper.”

Dipper was stunned, mouth hanging open. It was too much to process. Shadows, conquering, alternate timelines, energy, darkness… However, the only thing he focused on was a smaller detail. “You called me by my name. Dipper. You didn’t call me Pine Tree.”

Bill smiled at him, eye shining. “Well, I _did_ choose you over conquering the world. I could have let that darkness overtake me. I could have eaten up all your energy and used it to destroy the world.”

“For the record,” Dipper muttered, glancing down at their still-clasped hands, “I’m glad you didn’t. I’d kinda miss your dumb face, even the bright yellow, triangular one.”

“I’d miss you too, you ridiculous human.”

Dipper didn’t know how long they stayed there underneath the tree- it felt like seconds, but it also felt like hours. They didn’t speak after that, and Dipper couldn’t remember ever leaving. They simply sat there, hand in hand. Dipper was rapidly replacing images of the terrible darkness induced Bill that had nearly hurt his sister and Dot, with this young boy so close to his own age. He noticed how his smile curved, he noticed how his hair fell around his face; a golden frame of curls. He noticed the smoothness of Bill’s hand, and the funny texture of his tunic.

In turn, he could feel Bill’s eyes on him. He had never done well in the eyes of girls he’d had crushes on, and this somehow felt even worse. No, worse wasn’t right. The tingles up and down his spine weren’t bad, and the tickly, bubbly, warm feeling in the back of his head was marvelous. But this so acutely intimate, it was a bit of a blur, really. It went by far too slowly but simultaneously Dipper wished it could have gone on forever. At some point, he leaned onto Bill’s shoulder, letting his eyes drift shut. The next thing he knew he was blinking awake in his bed in the shack, and next to him was lying another person. A very human looking, very colorful, and very smiley…

Bill.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im gonna be taking a break from this fic, as my school's version of finals are approaching. it's really just one giant project, but im one of the people that is helping to organize this giant project, so i'll be really busy. i also might attempt NaNoWriMo... maybe.   
> but i very well might write some more for this. or my other idea, which was a Chuck billdip au... as in dipper is the nerdy civilian and bill is the hot blond spy (((;   
> maybe that would be in the form of mini drabbles, who knows   
> im agentsharkie on tumblr, and always desperate to talk to people   
> until next time!


	11. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As it turned out, Bill Cipher in the body of a teenage boy was… a handful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....i return 
> 
> so this really is an interlude, just something to jump between the previous part and the next. and it’s also kinda the halfway mark, so far as chapters go! 
> 
> its so filler, too. im so sorry. but i had to do it, so i can get onto the next chapter, which is fuLL OF DOT AND MABEL. WHO’S PUMPED??
> 
> okay anyways. please dont hate the filly filler filling too much :”> 

As it turned out, Bill Cipher in the body of a teenage boy was… a handful. At least he wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to human customs, but he was also overflowing with magic and mischief. If he’d been annoying in his triangle form, this new fleshy form was even worse. It was lucky Bill had spent so long observing humanity (when he wasn’t destroying it), so he understood the concepts of bathing, clothes, eating regularly, that sort of thing. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a strange person.

The new form wasn’t exactly the same as the one in the Mindscape. He had two irises and two pupils, unlike his blank, glowing eye in the Mindscape. His left eye was grey, and the right was a disturbingly impossible gold, but he was a demon after all, so Dipper ignored it. His teeth were also suspiciously sharp, and when Bill bit down on his neck to prove his wasn’t a vampire, Dipper yelped in pain. (He wasn’t convinced Bill wasn’t a vampire, but that was a different matter). But the biggest difference, the one that confused Dipper the most, were the tattoos. On the back of Bill’s hands were finely lined, golden triangles. The were perfectly mirrored, and spanned the entire back of his hand. Bill didn’t explain them, so didn’t Dipper didn’t press, but his curiosity grew when he saw his demon’s back. The was an intricately detailed circle, with an emblem of Bill’s triangle form in the center. It was in the same fine, golden lining, and Dipper was dying to know more, but he let it go. Bill would tell him eventually.

The very first thing Bill did was rifal through the twins wardrobe, find everything yellow, black, and the brightest of blues, and take it away to shove in “his corner”, which was really just under Dipper’s bed. When he’d shown up, he’d been stark naked, but thankfully had wrapped himself in one of Dipper’s blankets. Dipper didn’t want to think about other scenarios that ended differently. His outfits ranged from Mabel’s sunflower sweater and Dipper’s dress pants, to an indiscrete black shirt and electric blue leggings, to Dipper’s star covered pajama pants and a yellow hoodie. His style didn’t stop at his clothes, oh no. His hair was normal one day, straightened the next, pinned back before dinner and extra curled by the time they all went to bed. In one week, Bill managed to go through more fashion trends than either of the twins could count.

Bill was also loud. From laughing, to yelling, to singing, that boy did it all. His laugh ranged from adorable giggles to ear splitting guffaws, the latter of which made Dot cringe and nearly fold in on himself. His yelling made Dipper bury his head under his pillow, or tackle Bill to the ground to shut him up. His singing could actually be quite nice, if he put any effort into it. Which, sadly, was very rarely. Dipper soon became used to waking up to the painful tones of Bill belting out some bubblegum-y pop song in the shower.

While he argued constantly with Dot, Bill got along famously with Mabel. After they had a long and snippy talk about nearly blasting everyone to death and leaving with no explanation, Mabel decided he was alright in his new form. He was also somehow friendly with every familiar. He could just open his hand and Sammy would come scurrying up. It wasn’t fair, Dipper thought to himself, a little bitterly. Wasn’t Bill supposed to be _his_ familiar?

The first night he was there as a human, Dipper didn’t even had a chance to talk to him about sleeping arrangements. The demon perched in the corner, between the wall and Dipper’s pillow, and stared intently at Dipper. It turned out Bil didn’t actually need to sleep in his human form, at least not until all the extra magic had worn off. So Dipper had to sleep in his normal position, only this time he had his own personal golden-haired gargoyle sitting beside his head. Bill also took to resting his hand on Dipper’s birthmark, or running a hand through his hair. Dipper took it in stride with a grumble and glare, but within three nights of the odd behavior, he was already used to it.

There was no mention of the darkness, or the shenanigans in the Mindscape. They didn’t pick up on human-demon training, at least not for Dipper and Bill. Dot and Mabel often disappeared for hours on end, and when they came back, Dot always seemed to glow brighter and Mabel was always smiling wider. Bill gave a short answer to the rest of the family of “I have enough power to tie myself to Pine Tree and this world, and my payment is a human body,” which made no sense to anybody. Even Dot seemed confused. Dot and Mabel knitted three new sweaters. Ford disappeared into his lab for a few days, but came out soon enough, Marco on his shoulder, both looking a bit singed but smiling. Stan continued to assign shifts to the twins, Wendy, and Soos. Dot helped Mabel, but stayed out of sight of the townsfolk. Bill hung around Dipper during his shifts, and it was a common scene to see the blonde hanging on Dipper’s shoulders while Dipper tried his best to go about his daily activities. Dipper was still the taller one, and Bill decided that meant Dipper was his favorite thing to climb on. Dipper grouched about it, but still smiled and tromped about the shack, Bill hanging to his neck and giggling madly.

They did lots of other things, like explore the woods, the town, everywhere. Bill may not have been the knowledge demon like Dot, but he still knew lots of things. They’d made a trip to the store just so Dipper could buy some new sketchbooks and start logging everything Bill told him. They’d spend hours in the forest together, while Bill rambled on and on and Dipper scribbled everything he could down into his new books. Bill didn’t just talk, either. He could draw pictures. When Dipper’s hand would cramp up, Bill would take the book away from Dipper, and start off on a another story of his as he sketched out fantastical pictures of creatures, animals, and worlds. Their favorite position for this activity was with Dipper up against a tree, with Bill leaning against his chest to he could crook his knees and rest the sketchbook against them. As he talked, Bill would always gesture wildly with his hands, and it was a miracle he ever finished his drawings. And yet, they filled the first book up in three days.

Unfortunately, they both still had sibling obligations. Mabel and Dot dragged them into four-way games all the time. Sometimes it was tag, or hide and go seek, or some completely made up game. Sometimes, or rather, _one specific time,_ Candy and Grenda had shown up, armed to the teeth with makeover supplies. Even Pacifica was behind them, Star the cat already winding about Mabel’s legs and purring. Copper and Alphy both had bows atop their heads, blue to compliment Copper’s feathers and gold for Alphy. Fifteen minutes later, Dipper found himself plopped in the middle of his and Mabel’s room, with a zillion bows in his hair, a lacy dress pulled over his head, and his feet squeezed into sparkly heels. Bill hadn’t let him escape. His demon, the traitor, was posing for the girls, as Pacifica flashed her phone like a paparazzi's camera. Bill’s hair was swept up into a golden, sparkling heap of hairspray and ribbons. There was an unfamiliar bright blue streak running through his hair. He had on a bright pink leotard, yellow tights, and blue leg warmers. There was a feathery boa shedding feather all over the floor draped around his shoulders, and every inch of his face sparkled in glitter. How was he even blinking with that much eye stuff…? Dipper somehow managed to escape, without Bill, who was styling a wig for Dot. (The blue streak never left. Either it was magical or Bill redyed it every day, for it never faded, not one bit.)

After a week of this strange normalcy, Dipper started to realize just how nice it was to have Bill around. Dipper had never considered himself an antisocial person, but when he looked back on his memories of summer, he was always hanging out with his sister, or Ford, or Wendy and her friends. He didn’t really have his own group of friends. The yellow triangle he’d accidently summoned along with Dot turned out to be annoying, loud, and pushy, yes, but he was also fun. Finally, Dipper had someone _he_ could chase down around the shack, and play videogames with, and share popsicles and complain about chores with. It was refreshing, and a little weird. Bill was still a demon after all. He didn’t sleep, sometimes he glowed when he got extra excited, his voice still didn’t quite sound fully human, and he even floated a few times a day. He was very much _not_ a human. And yet… Dipper didn’t really care. He’d been in over his head in magical wonders for over year now. Bill wasn’t only interesting, he was exciting, and fun, and a friend. Dipper’s friend. He was Mabel’s friend too, Dot was his _brother,_ and while he did cause enough trouble to be scolded by the Stans, he was _Dipper’s_ friend. His. Not a friend of his sister, or one of the high schoolers, but his. And every time he thought about it, Dipper couldn’t help the sappy grin that took over his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip.. that was so slow...  
> the pace is a lil picked up next chapter! it'll be time for some needed conversations and warnings :>   
> happy new years!


End file.
